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March 21, 2008

'Third places' for bicycle commuters

We know third places are that familiar social gathering place away from home and work, and we're thankfully witnessing a renaissance of them in neighborhoods everywhere. So, it was inevitable that as more creatives turn to more natural means of transportation we would start to see third places for biking commuters, aka urban bike stations (thank you Springwise).

You're in luck if you live in the following cities with urban bike stations, all of which offer secure covered bike parking, on-site repair, rentals, lockers and showers:

Chicago: McDonald's Cycle Center, a 16,000 s.f. station located in Millennium Park since 2004, features a cafe (essential to a third place). Membership is $20/month.

Aukland, New Zealand: BikeCentral Membership is NZD $25/week. The benchmark for biking third places, with a fresh food cafe and free wi-fi.

Berkeley, San Francisco, Long Beach, Palo Alto and Santa Barbara, California, or Seattle: BikeStation While it scores high in ubiquity, it needs a venue for social interaction. Membership is $12/month.

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March 20, 2008

London's three public markets in one

If you live anywhere near Notting Hill in London you may never have to shop anywhere outside of Portobello Road, where the Portobello Road Market comes to life each day. Over a half mile long and closed to cars, it features three distinct public markets:

Monday-Friday, 9am-6:30pm with half-day closing on Thursday, 1pm: Fruit and vegetable market, with flowers and food vendors, primarily serving the locals.

Friday, Saturday, 9am-6:30 pm: Flea market, with a strong emphasis on fashion new and old.

Saturday, 8am-5pm: Antiques market, known as the world's largest antiques market with over 1500 dealers.

Saturday is the most popular day, with the antiques and flea market running concurrently, sprinkled with unique street performers. The street is also lined with complementary local independent cafes, restaurants, pubs, galleries and shops.

Talk about longevity, the market has existed since the 1870s. Read about its history here.

Thanks to Travis and Andi Joseph for the reference.

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March 19, 2008

PPS's checklist for making great cities

Every once in a while a checklist is highly beneficial to remind one of the fundamentals. Today we bring you a civic-minded one from Project for Public Spaces*, Is Your City a Great City?

PPS's checklist has seven principles with three to four action-oriented steps each, as you can see here. Below are those principles with the most cool town, natural cultural district-focused tactic to achieve each one:

Community goals are a top priority in city planning
Utilize crowdsourced placemaking. Learn about the conditions here and initiate the process here.

The emphasis is on pedestrians, not cars
Aim for pedestrian-only promenades, paseos and walks, with piazzas and courtyards - lots of examples here. Generations that grew up with suburbia will be resistant, but emerging generations prefer such scenes. Be patient and persistent - these places will surely come.

New development projects enhance existing communities
New developments tend to be out-of-human-scale and chain-retail-driven, so it's vital to identify developers that insist on human-scaled buildings that crowdsource local, independent retail.

Public spaces are accessible and well-used
Most urban areas around the world (outside the U.S.) have pedestrian-only squares in the heart of the city that regularly act as the center stage for a performing city, or an outdoor dining scene.

Civic institutions are catalysts for public life.
Time to redefine schools, libraries and community centers that reflect the contemporary creative, knowledge-oriented times - one California city is looking to crowdsource its existing neglected library into a proactive cultural creative entertainment center and third place.

Local economic development is encouraged
Local independent businesses - necessary for a vibrant local economy and city culture. A very well-documented topic on this site.

Public spaces are managed, programmed and continually improved.
Once again, crowdsource the maintenance of a healthy neighborhood - see We Are Smarter Than Me for practical insight.

*"Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public places that build communities."

Image source: Senado Square, Macau by Stephen's Photo Journey

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March 18, 2008

'We Are Smarter Than Me'

Looking for a solid, short read on crowdsourcing? The best book to date to satisfy that would have to be We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business (at least until Crowdsourcing: 'Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business' comes out July 2008). For the concise-minded, not only is We Are Smarter a mere 147 pages, but it's full of pictures as well.

A look at the chapters, all of which provide lots of real world examples.

1. Look What 'We' Can Do. An introduction.
2. Go From R&D to R&WE. Using crowds to source innovation.
3. How May We Help We? Using crowds to source customer service.
4. Customer, Sell Thyself. Using crowds to source new sales.
5. If We Build It, We Will Come. Using crowds to source new products and services.
6. Welcome to the World Bank of We. Using crowds to source funding capital.
7. Make Everyone a C-We-O. Using crowds to source company management.
8. Crowdsourcing principles.
- Lead from the rear
- Know when to step in/moderate
- Form a club, a real community of like-minded people
- You can't hide (from your mistakes), so don't even try
- Forget about perfection, being too polished, canned
- Stir things up, ignite passion
- Say thank you, reward participation
- This is not a one-night stand - "For a new group, a year or 18 months is soon enough to make a determination of whether the game has been worth the candle."

Be sure to check out the We Are Smarter website, where they're crowdsourcing the book's sequel.

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March 17, 2008

'Pull your own pint' - a bar within a bar

Say you're at a bar with friends, and you want to sample a few beers, or you just want a half pint to cap off the evening, or you're in the mood for a hefeweizen right now. There's also something festive and congenial about refilling everyone's mugs from a pitcher on the table.

It was inevitable, and it has arrived - self-serve tables with their own draft taps (and metered displays), which you'll for the time being have to travel to Pilsen, Czechoslovakia's new Pilsner Unique Bar (pictured) or Dublin, Ireland's 300-year old Baggot Inn to enjoy. Sure, traditionalists will miss having a beer server, but you'll still have a server for food who will also be knowledgeable about the brews, and you'll get to sample them yourself rather than take their word for it.

There's nothing like an Irishman introducing you to a 'pull your own Guiness' experience, so here's the video so see for yourself.

Thanks to Springwise for the reference.

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